A Visit to Hangar 24

by Drew Kaplan ·
Published November 24, 2014
· Updated November 24, 2014

Having had a few beers from Hangar 24, I had the opportunity earlier this month to visit the brewery and try some of their beers. They are located in Redlands, California in the Inland Empire, right across the street from the Redlands Airport in an old airplane hangar. Similar to the common visual aesthetic of small breweries these days, being housed in a[n erstwhile] warehouse (e.g. Bootlegger’s), Hangar 24 has an open feel, with very little seating inside of the warehouse, but a nice amount of seating on the covered outdoor patio.

Taster Flight at Hangar 24

While there, I decided to get a tasting flight, which is an excellent deal: you taste 9 different beers for only $9! I decided to go in the order presented, starting off with Helles Lager, which was light, reminded me of a Keystone Light. Next up was Orange Wheat, for which they are quite known – I found it light and citrusy. Next was Alt-Bier Amber Ale, which seemed like a light nut brown ale. Next was Oktoberfest Fall Lager, a seasonal offering, which was good and smooth.

Hangar 24 has a lot of beers available

Having drunk the lighter beers, it was time to transition, starting with Amarillo Pale Ale, which is a nice pale ale. Following that was Gourdgeous, which was another seasonal offering, and it was yummy and pumpkiny! I really enjoyed it (it also had an ABV of 8.5%, so it was a boozier beer). Next up was the Betty IPA, which was good – nice and fruity. Definitely, a lovely IPA that could be sessionable, especially at only 6.5% ABV.

Next up was their Chocolate Porter, which was rich and tasty (and 8.5%, so it was a soolid beer). Finally, their Double IPA was good (their biggest beer, checking in at 9.0% ABV and 118 IBU (although it was somewhat balanced out with the malt, so it was not as unbalanced, hops-wise, as the Betty IPA)).
Coming away from my time there, I really wanted to get a growler fill of the Betty IPA, which was more lightly-bodied than their Double IPA, yet was more hops-forward, with a fruity-type of hops (probably due to the Citra hops). However, they only do growler fills in their growlers, which was quite unfortunate (yes, I had an empty brown growler in my car). While their growlers are very nice-looking (okay, they are really cool-looking), they are also expensive. Since I have no plans to regularly head out to Redlands to fill up a growler, it wouldn’t be worth it for me.

Overall, it was neat to try out their beers, especially having heard so much about their brewery, it was also great to visit the brewery. I also got a better sense of their beers, which was great.